BY JON LAND
During his May visit to the Pentagon, Indonesian defence minister Matori Abdul Djalil received signals that the United States is keen to renew military ties with the Indonesian armed forces.
Despite reluctance by Congress to lift the bans on ties with the Indonesian military that were introduced in 1999, US defence secretary Donald Rumsfeld is pushing for this to change. It's time for them [Congress] to adjust it [restrictions] substantially, Rumsfeld told reporters at a press briefing on May 13.
Rumsfeld added that Indonesia is addressing human rights abuses issues in an orderly, democratic way.
Djalil stated it was necessary for military ties to resume because Indonesia and the United States have a common platform, especially on issues such as democracy, and also on issues such as terrorism. He cited the Indonesian government's ad hoc tribunal for human rights abuses conducted in East Timor in 1999 as proof of the commitment of Indonesia to hold members of the military accountable.
Djalil said that his government cannot interfere in the legal proceedings, but the government continues to encourage the court to have a fair trial. He also claimed that the Indonesian government is committed to dialogue in order to settle the conflict in Aceh.
Most observers, including leading Indonesian legal rights experts, have slammed the ad hoc tribunal as a mockery of justice. In Aceh, the so-called commitment to dialogue has been accompanied by more indiscriminate killings (possibly more than 1000 since the start of the year) by an Indonesian occupation force of some 70,000 troops.
Many of the officers in command or responsible for the operations in Aceh are linked to the 1999 killings in East Timor.
From Green Left Weekly, May 22, 2002.
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